Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2017

Presentation

Presentation
Considered as one of the greatest white wines in France, only 6000 bottles of this wine are produced. It's made with 100% very old Roussanne vines and harvested slightly over ripe. This exceptional wine must be drunk within 3 years or after 15 years. To be enjoyed with gastronomic cuisine.
The vintage
This 2017 vintage will be remembered as the year of all records: the driest year in 30 years, non-interventionist vineyard work, optimal harvest conditions, a very small yield due to climatic hazards, and wines with very rich potential.
Location
Château de Beaucastel has 7 hectares planted with white varieties.
Terroir
Molasse seabed of the Miocene period covered by diluvial alpine deposits (rolled pebbles).
Ageing
The grapes are hand picked in small cases and sorted, pneumatically pressed. Settling of the juices and fermentation (30% in oak, 70% tanks). Bottled after 8 months.
Varietal
Roussanne : 100%

Advice

Serving
14°C in tasting glasses.
Tasting
Very beautiful golden colour with shiny reflections. On the nose, this wine offers notes of quince, lime and roasted pineapple. Very elegant on the palate, delicately oaky with an opulent texture, it reveals aromas of white flowers such as acacia and honeysuckle, honey and citrus zest. The finish is exceptionally long and salty.

Reviews

94/100
"Sweet-smelling apples and pears, waxy lemon peel and some nicely weighted oak influence. Fleshy depth to the finish. This has concentration and richness with elegance. From a small, around 3-ha parcel of original vines, between 85 and 100-years old. Drink or old."
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96-99/100
"Last of the whites, huge notes of buttered citrus, exotic flowers, pineapple, honeysuckle, and almond notes all emerge from the 2017 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, a rich, yet fresh, elegant, vibrant barrel sample that does everything right. You can’t find a wine like this anywhere else in the world, and it’s consistently one of the world’s great white wines."
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97-99/100
"The 500-case production of this wine comes from a three-hectare parcel of Roussanne planted in 1909. The 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes takes the quality of Beaucastel's traditional white and raises it another level. Caramelized pineapple sounds sweet and cloying, but it isn't when it's backed by amazing texture, citrus zest and a briny sensation on the never-ending finish. As this was the last wine of my visit to the estate, I found it especially hard to spit out."
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96/100
"Roussanne vines more than 100 years old give tiny yields. a kaleidoscope of scents: macadamia, mango, quince and rhubarb. very full bodied but saved from fatness by a gleaming mineral edge and balancing acidity. almost too much this year, it tastes nearly sweet but finishes dry, very long and absurdly opulent. it’s always an attention-grabbing wine, and some will love it all the more for its excess in 2017; some less."
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